I live on a river and ski behind by PS197 most mornings before work starting at 5:30 a.m. and I am at work by 8 am. I'm an open water skier, age 54. My usual routine is to ski about 2 miles on SAG conditions, turning as quickly as possible and always pulling hard across both wakes. I consider myself fit and doing a 4 minute run seems to be a great workout for me even though it's not a long workout session. Needless to say it's the most fun a person can have in 4 minutes so I'm reluctant to call it a workout. After I ski, my partner skis back to the dock. We're very efficient. I'll ski longer on the weekends but my primary workout revolves around my 4 minute sessions on most weekday mornings during the "summer" months. I've never had access to a slalom course so I don't track ski runs by sets. Am I a wimp at age 54 to ski hard for only 4 minutes and call that a day? I think not. My muscles tell me they are definitely getting a good work out. I've read several articles lately about how short, intense workouts are proven to work. I did CrossFit for one year and liked it very much but it was too high impact for my legs (box jumps etc.). I've been an open water slalom skier for nearly 50 years and love it!

Open water skiing is different from course skiing wich is short runs that last only 40 seconds but are more intense once you sart shorthening the rope.
No way i could ski for 4 miles with the intensity of skiing 32 off.
That said,i think you re in good shape to be able to ski that long without stopping for a breather but the intensity of course skiing is something ...different.
I ski early too,only boat on the lake with a couples of fishermens.First set is 6-7 passes and 4-5 passes on the second set.
Best way to start the day!!!

Am I a wimp at age 54 to ski hard for only 4 minutes and call that a day? I think not.

Definitely not a wimp. I know I could not ski 4 minutes in a row pulling across both wakes the whole time. But I agree with Andre above - 2 sets of 6 passes @ 34 mph in a slalom course is much more intense than open water skiing. I skied 2 sets last night, 2nd set running [email protected]' 34 mph and my body and hands were COOKED afterwards.

Kidding aside, I think your body will let you know if it's a workout. As you said, your muscles are the immediate feedback mechanism and your breathing will also let you know you've made a muscular effort. I guess a fitness pro would tell you that if you want to "build" then you'd need to lengthen and intensify. . .but for maintenance exercise, I should think the same routine is both valid and ample. I have only just started skiing and wakeboarding in the last month (at the age of 50), and I noticed that this week is the first where I didn't "feel" the weekend afterwards. I worked the water harder this past weekend than any previous, but felt less achy. . .to me that means my muscles are stronger and therefore previous sessions created the benefit (cuz I sure don't work out any other way). Just my 2 cents.